Lettuce started off as an erect plant with prickly leaves and stems, a bitter taste, and copious quantities of latex. Today, the latex and bitterness emerge when the plants are old and start entering the reproductive stage.
New lettuce varieties are less likely to become bitter, and also have a far lower latex content.
Over the centuries, the original wild types have been bred into a wide array of varieties and a number of different colours, which makes them more attractive and, in some cases, more nutritious. The reddish hues contain anthocyanin, a valuable antioxidant.
Broadly speaking, there are four types of lettuce:
• Iceberg lettuce Crisphead, or iceberg, lettuce is the most popular type in many countries. The name ‘iceberg’ was derived from the practice of shipping these vegetables from California to distant destinations covered in crushed ice.
This story is from the February 28, 2020 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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This story is from the February 28, 2020 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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